Red Granite Pictures was an American film production and distribution company, co-founded by

Riza Aziz Riza Shahriz bin Abdul Aziz, better known as Riza Aziz, is a Malaysian film producer and the co-founder of Red Granite Pictures, a Los Angeles-based film production company. Career Riza holds a BS degree in Government & Economics and an MS ...

and

Joey McFarland Joey McFarland (born April 30, 1972) is an American film producer and the founder of McFarland Entertainment, a content development and production company for both film and television. He was previously vice chairman of Red Granite Pictures. L ...

in 2010. Its productions included ''The Wolf of Wall Street'' and ''

Dumb and Dumber To ''Dumb and Dumber To'' is a 2014 American buddy comedy film co-written and directed by the Farrelly brothers. It is the third installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise and a sequel to the 1994 film ''Dumb and Dumber''. The film stars Ji ...

''. It was dissolved in 2018 after being implicated in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal.

History

Red Granite Pictures made its debut with ''

Friends with Kids ''Friends with Kids'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written, produced, and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt, who also stars in the film. Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O'Dowd, Megan Fox, and Edward Burns also star ...

'', a romantic comedy written and directed by

Jennifer Westfeldt Jennifer Westfeldt (born February 2, 1970) is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer. She is best known for co-writing, co-producing, and starring in the 2002 indie film '' Kissing Jessica Stein'', for which she received an ...

. They then executive-produced the thriller ''

Out of the Furnace ''Out of the Furnace'' is a 2013 American crime drama film directed by Scott Cooper, from a screenplay written by Cooper and Brad Ingelsby. Produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio, the film stars Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody ...

'' as well as the 2013 film '' The Wolf of Wall Street''. The latter was directed by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

and stars Leonardo DiCaprio,

Margot Robbie Margot Elise Robbie (; born 2 July 1990) is an Australian actress and producer. Known for her work in both blockbuster and independent films, she has received several accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, four Golden Glob ...

and

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad (film), Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), ''21 Jump Street (film), 21 Jump Stre ...

. The film is based on the memoir of the same name by former stockbroker

Jordan Belfort Jordan Ross Belfort (; born July 9, 1962) is an American entrepreneur, speaker, author, former stockbroker, and financial criminal. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to fraud and related crimes in connection with stock-market manipulation and running ...

. Red Granite Pictures then produced films such as ''

'' and the 2017 film '' Papillon'' which was based on the best-selling autobiography by the French convict

Henri Charrière Henri Charrière (; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted in 1931 as a murderer by the French courts and pardoned in 1970. He wrote the novel '' Papillon'', a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a pena ...

. They went defunct in 2018 due to an embezzlement scandal.

Controversies

The producers of the 1994 film ''

Dumb and Dumber ''Dumb and Dumber'' is a 1994 American buddy comedy film directed by Peter Farrelly, who cowrote the screenplay with Bobby Farrelly and Bennett Yellin. It is the first installment in the ''Dumb and Dumber'' franchise. Starring Jim Carrey and ...

'' claimed Red Granite Pictures pushed them out of producing the 2014

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

. On July 16, 2014, plaintiffs withdrew their racketeering claim with prejudice, meaning it could not be refiled, which was characterized as a strong suggestion that the lawsuit underlying it had been settled. On July 18, 2014, a request for dismissal was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and the case was officially settled. The announcement of the settlement lists the plaintiffs as executive producers, and all claims of racketeering made against Red Granite,

and Joey McFarland were withdrawn. The plaintiffs said in a statement, “We apologize for naming Riza Aziz and Joey McFarland as individual defendants rather than just Red Granite.” Red Granite Pictures was caught up in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal. The alleged use of funds stolen from 1MDB is detailed in the book ''Billion Dollar Whale'' by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope. In 2016, the FBI issued subpoenas to several past and present employees of the company in regard to allegations that US$155 million was diverted from 1MDB to help finance the 2013 film '' The Wolf of Wall Street''. Red Granite Pictures, which has the ex-Malaysian Prime Minister's stepson, Riza Aziz, as its co-founder and chairman, denied any wrongdoing. However, in March 2018, Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay $60 million to the US government in order to settle a civil lawsuit alleging that its movies were funded in part by money siphoned from 1MDB.

Filmography

;As producer

References

External links

Official website of Red Granite PicturesOfficial website of Red Granite International
{{Authority control Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States American companies established in 2010 American companies disestablished in 2018

History

Controversies

Filmography

See also

References

External links